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Morality and its effects
The ethical dilemma of animal experiments
Should human experimentation be allowed
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Recommended: Morality and its effects
Curiosity has been a natural element for humans since the beginning of mankind, and has been benefitting the advancement of human development for many centuries. Starting with the ancient Neanderthals questioning how to use their own limbs, leading up to modern-day humans researching technologies to help us regrow lost body parts, it is apparent that curiosity has become a persistent attribute to our nature. It is natural for humans to discover ways to benefit themselves through the manner of experimentation, almost to the point where morality is not questioned if the benefit is extremely valued. Morality of various human actions are questioned every day, such as those done to animals. The problem of animal cruelty and brutality is truly exemplified in the book The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H.G. Wells, where he makes readers question the ethics behind animal experimentation for human benefit. Wells depicts that the practice …show more content…
Sadly, for humans, our actions can never be fully considered morally correct. However, since these practices can never be entirely humane, they can all carried out much more properly or changed drastically. As technology advances, humans can use visual simulations or real-life replicas to practice vivisection, leaving real animals are completely out of harms way. New execution styles for animals can be simulated and experimented with full regard to animal comfort and consciousness, finding the best alternative way to peacefully kill in a slaughterhouse. We humans need to use our surrounding technology to help us further advance ourselves away from the moral and ethic drama related to so many issues present day. As time progresses and humans develop, I believe technological advancements will be present in our everyday lives and eliminate many issues about the morals of our
Goodall argues that her readers have an ethical obligation to protect animals from suffering, but she also implies that it might be necessary sometimes to abandon that obligation. She points out that animals share similar traits with human beings: they have a capacity for certain human emotions, and they may be capable of legitimate friendship. Goodall’s evidence for this claim is an anecdote from her research. She recounts that one chimpanzee in her study, named David Greybeard, “gently squeezed [her] hand” when she offered him food (62). Appealing to readers’ emotions, Goodall hopes to persuade readers that the chimp is “sociable” and “sentient,” or feeling (62). According to Goodall’s logic, if researchers are careful to avoid tests that cause human suffering, they should also be careful to avoid tests that cause suffering for other life forms.
Gluck mentions that there are many ethical principles researchers must follow when conducting research on humans, but no document exists for primates. He states that research in cognitive ethology and neuroscience suggests that we underestimate animals’ mental complexity and pain sensitivity. However, if a human is the subject then the researchers are much more cautious. Due to the lack of acknowledging animals’ suffrage, Gluck’s argument is that our moral universe changes. Primates feel pain similar to humans. Humans rely on the ethical code of conduct during research. There is no ethical code of conduct for primates even though they feel pain just as humans do; therefore, our moral universe changes. The conclusion considering our change in morals is an inductive leap rather than a necessary
playing God. The balance of nature is put to the ultimate test as a man by the
As I have progressed through this class, my already strong interest in animal ethics has grown substantially. The animal narratives that we have read for this course and their discussion have prompted me to think more deeply about mankind’s treatment of our fellow animals, including how my actions impact Earth’s countless other creatures. It is all too easy to separate one’s ethical perspective and personal philosophy from one’s actions, and so after coming to the conclusion that meat was not something that was worth killing for to me, I became a vegetarian. The trigger for this change (one that I had attempted before, I might add) was in the many stories of animal narratives and their inseparable discussion of the morality in how we treat animals. I will discuss the messages and lessons that the readings have presented on animal ethics, particularly in The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Dead Body and the Living Brain, Rachel in Love, My Friend the Pig, and It Was a Different Day When They Killed the Pig. These stories are particularly relevant to the topic of animal ethics and what constitutes moral treatment of animals, each carrying important lessons on different facets the vast subject of animal ethics.
Much controversy surrounds the humanity or inhumanity of using defenseless animals in experiments. Animals endure excruciating pain and suffer harsh conditions when used to test products. Many argue that animals are unable to consent to the tests. They are forced to undergo the pain put upon them and often die or are euthanized when no longer needed. Human beings feel as if they are superior to and more valuable than animals, yet, humans are more similar to chimpanzees than chimp...
Beginning in ancient times, animals were experimented on out of pure curiosity, and people did not understand how different systems really worked. Today, we have an undeniable understanding of the body’s functions and metabolism, proving that this practice is becoming increasingly unreliable, expensive, and above all: cruel. For centuries, innocent animals such as rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, cats, dogs, and primates have been used for man’s own selfish wants. In modernity, “an estimated 26 million animals are used and slaughtered every year due to animal research.” (“Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing?”, 1). For some, animal research is the image of medical breakthroughs. For others, the mere thought brings the image of animals being locked in cages, starved, alone, and in pain. Animals’ rights are commonly ignored, and malpractice is often hidden from the public eye.Widely believed to bring medical gain, animal testing is cruel, inhumane, and costly. This practice is a flawed system that should be bypassed at all conceivable costs.
“The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.”(Arthur Schopenhauer)
The Island of Dr Moreau, by H.G. Wells, is not an ordinary science fiction novel. It doesn't deal with aliens or anything from outer space, but with biological science that exists on earth. The novel was about a character, Edmund Prendick that gets involved with an island of experimentation. At first glance, this tropical paradise seems idyllic. But deep in the jungles lies a terrifying secret. Moreau and Montgomery have been performing scientific research on human beings and the experiment goes terribly wrong. They have ignored the most fundamental law of the jungle: survival of the fittest. The doctor is seeking to make animals half human by means of vivisectional surgery; the transplantation of organs, and the pain involved is very vividly described. Doctor Moreau succeeds in making some of his man-animals talk and even read, but they tend to revert to the beast. So Moreau continues to try to get the entire animal out, and make a creature of his own. His creatures, which continue to come to their demise, then kill Moreau and finally all die off. When the H.M.S. Scorpion visits the island, there is nothing alive there except for a few "white moths, some hogs and rabbits and some rather peculiar rats."
Moreau and the Puma execute each other. Prendick decides this is more than he can take and is planning to leave the island. He and Montgomery abolishes all the experiments in Dr. Moreau’s lab. However, Montgomery does not want to leave the island so he destroys the ship. Using the wood for the bonfire. After drinking all day and night Montgomery and some of the Beast Folks fight for some unknown reason and Montgomery is badly wounded and later dies and is buried at sea. Prendick, finds a companion in the Dog Man and a Hyena Swine as an enemy, he is afraid of the other beast, folks and spend months trying to construct a raft to leave the island. Eventually the Beast Folks start to transform back to their original being
“The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that their treatment has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."(Schopenhauer). I always wondered why some people are not so drawn to the consumption of meat and fed up with only one thought about it. Why do so many people loathe blood, and why can so few people easily kill and slaughter animals, until they just get used to it? This reaction should say something about the most important moments in the code, which was programmed in the human psyche.
The ugly truth is that animals are dying at the hands of their owners everyday, some in very violent ways that can be avoidable given the right solution. Slaughterhouses, puppy mills, dog fighting, and so on, are just a few examples of how animals are being treated badly by people. Animal cruelty is a form of violence which, un...
Peter Singer, an author and philosophy professor, “argues that because animals have nervous systems and can suffer just as much as humans can, it is wrong for humans to use animals for research, food, or clothing” (Singer 17). Do animals have any rights? Is animal experimentation ethical? These are questions many struggle with day in and day out in the ongoing battle surrounding the controversial topic of animal research and testing, known as vivisection. Throughout centuries, medical research has been conducted on animals.
A major ethical concern that has been under speculation for many of years is focused around animal ethics, and whether or not certain animal practices are just or inhuman. There are many questions that focus around fundamental issues concerning the moral status of animals. It is critical to understand the difference between a concern for animal welfare and a concern for animal rights. A current issue that is important to understand and analyze is animal experimentation, and although many consider it to be an unethical practice, there are many pros and cons to the controversial topic. Although animal experimentation has been very beneficial medically, the argument can be made that using animals to experiment is not always necessary.
“Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are like us." Ask the experimenters why it is morally okay to experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are not like us." Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction.” Said Charles R. Magel
In 1896 H. G. Wells had the first edition of ' The Island of Dr. Moreau'; published. The book took place primarily on an island in the Pacific Ocean. On this island Dr. Moreau and his assistant ( Montgomery) performed dangerous, secret experiments on humans and animals. When Wells wrote this he knew nothing about DNA, cloning, or chromosomes but he did use his scientific imagination. Wells realized that society was beginning to rely on science too much in the late nineteenth century. He wrote this book to issue a stern warning for future societies against their own scientific advancements. He knew that just like his society others will want to quench their appetite for this tasty treat called vivisection or cloning. He knew that eventually the progress of society would lead to the all or nothing control of the evolutionary processes.